When the Royals participated in the expansion draft, they leaned heavily on pitchers taken from two successful organizations, the Baltimore Orioles and the Detroit Tigers. Both of those teams had assembled powerhouse squads in the late 1960’s that the baby Royals hoped to emulate. With the 31st pick in the draft, Cedric Tallis selected one Richard “Dick” Drago off the roster of the Tigers.
Drago had narrowly missed making the roster of the Detroit Tigers in the 1968 campaign, which saw the Tigers defeat the St. Louis Cardinals for the World Series championship.
Drago grew up in Toledo, Ohio, where he was a Connie Mack All-Star.